CNN host Jake Tapper slammed the chair of Paramount Global ― which owns CBS’s parent company ― saying she is “likely to bend the knee” to President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the exit of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens.
Tapper laid out the circumstances around Owens’ departure, noting that Paramount’s Shari Redstone “stands to make a fortune” as she looks to merge her company with Skydance Media, a multibillion-dollar deal that requires the approval of a Trump-favoring chair of the Federal Communications Commission.
He then predicted that Redstone would likely settle Trump’s “allegedly frivolous” $20 billion lawsuit with CBS over allegations that “60 Minutes” deceptively edited its interview with Kamala Harris before the 2024 presidential election.
“Hope the money’s worth it, Shari,” Tapper later declared.
Owens, in a memo to staff on Tuesday, pointed to a lack of journalistic independence as a reason for his exit.
His departure comes after Trump called for “maximum fines and punishment” for both CBS and Paramount earlier this month after “60 Minutes” reported on Greenland and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The president then called on FCC Chair Brendan Carr, whom Trump named to the position, to go after CBS for what he described as “unlawful and illegal behavior.”
In an interview with Bloomberg last month, Carr urged companies looking for FCC approval to “get busy ending any sort of their invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”
One “60 Minutes” source told CNN that Owens, who was the top producer with the program since 2019, “dedicated his life” to CBS and his exit was his last act of service to the network.
“He sacrificed himself, hoping it might make our corporate overlords wake up and realize they risk destroying what makes ‘60 Minutes’ great. It seems clear now, in a quest to sell the company, Shari Redstone and others will bow to presidential pressure,” the source said.
“‘60 Minutes’ is one of the crown jewels of American broadcast journalism, and they have no problem crushing it in their race to make a deal and make themselves richer,” they added.
H/T Mediaite
